However you feel about the Gordon pick, the decision -- coupled with Thornton's emergence as a legitimate piece of the future -- marks a clear change in philosophy for the organization. The offense appears as it will originate much more frequently on the perimeter. This pick is more than just about getting someone who can spread the floor. It situates Gordon and Thornton on the wings going forward. We can debate the value of this both functionally and aesthetically -- and whether these two guys are efficient enough to lead a winning team -- but it's clear the Clippers will have as different an offensive look next season as they've had in a long time.

Posted Wednesday, October 29 at 3:20PM

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Comments

If Gordon's shooting range proves to be true and thornton's shooting continues to improve and be consistant, then LA is in so much better shape.Brand's game is already all star worthy as well as Kaman's.It is possible to expect a decent season to say the least, having a consistant and effective inside out game with a healthy team is something to look forward to.

a couple of those grade a pg's are L.A. guys and may want to come home after years of not advancing in G.S. and Was if the money is right and EB is still on board.
i'm not giving up my dream till it's all settled.
but we damn sure best have at least beno or some other grade B unit after the dust clears.

Kirk Hinrich working the p&r with EB is what we should hope to see come October. It might be better to keep Cat so he can mentor Gordon for a year and then trade him next year when his contract situation will make him more attractive. We should be trying to move Thomas and a 1st rd pick as a package to get a quality pg. Udrich is not the answer. He's a left handed Dan Dikau.

(1) Signing Beno would be a mistake because he will command a 5-year deal. Beno would be a stop-gap for the Clips and you don't sign stop-gaps to 5-year deals

(2) If we can get Hinrich for a deal involving Cat, I would make that trade. However, Cat is still very valuable to the Clips. He's a legit starting 2-guard, a versatile defender, a 3-pt threat, and a go-to scorer at times. Having Cat takes pressure off Gordon to produce right away, and we need guard depth anyway. It seems that fans have forgotten that Cat came into last season in great shape and started out hot. Then he got hurt. You can't blame the guy for lack of effort. With a little luck he can have a good year for the Clips.

(3) We MUST get rid of Tim Thomas!!! He is a lazy-ass cancer. Trade him for somebody (anybody!) that will play hard. Maybe we can get Memphis to take him.

(4) If we manage to keep Elton, next year will be exciting to watch, if for no other reason than we get to see Brand and Kaman wreak havoc on NBA front-lines. If Maggette stays, we have one of the toughest trios in the NBA. Throw in Thornton, Mobley, and Gordon (subtract Thomas) and this could be an exciting team again.

ok, I'll admit I'm oversold on Beno and no way I'd give him a 5 yr deal (will he get that from anyone?) but I was up in NoCal for work a good part of last season and went to 5 or 6 games at arco where the dude looked a TON better than D.Dickau and on some nights looked like the poor man's Nash...which compared to DD and BK still seems like a guy worth getting. I'm saying if we can't come up with something better, Beno for a 3 year deal while we look for something better would at least be a step up.

of course, i'll have to own it if he ends up being the play and he blows.

Udrih and Calderon are probably the two best guys to get in terms of free agency. Heinrich would be great, but that will have to be a trade and I don't know if we're willing to part with any pieces that Chicago might want. Felton might be good if we can do a sign and trade for Maggette, TT, or Mobley. Barring that, signing Chris Duhon might not be bad as a stop gap measure. Extending EB's contract and signing one of these point guards will be crucial to the franchise for next season and beyond. It will either show that we're serious as an organization or resume our historical role as a doormat for the rest of the league.

I've noticed a pro-maggs stance on the board of late. I'm not anti corey by any means... but it's time to move him if he doesnt move himself. he's not a first or second option on a winning team and even if he is a good second option he's never going to fit into this system... so let's hope there's someway to move a maggs for hinrich or the like. But i'd rather have a kaveman, eb, thorton front line next year starting than have maggs again... it just seems to be a dead end keeping him. A Kaveman, EB, Thorton, Hinrich, Gordon starting line will be in my dreams tonight... and probably only in them

Maggette would be a fool to come back under the Dunce. I can't believe the guy withstood all he did over the last two years. The Doug Christie incident had to be the most eggregious sports related foul up I have ever witnessed. A pure childish mover by the Dunce, and one that any normal person would never get over. That is why Corey is the most professional player I have ever seen, to have tolerated that Dunce maneuver and not lose it. And that was just one incident. He also had to watch a D leaguer starting in front of him. This guy is the tenth leading scorer in the NBA and he has a D league guy in front of him. Think about that and how many of you who cut on the guy would hold it together under the same circumstances. I know I would have blown up at the Dunce.

I hope he does leave yer Dunce behind and go someplace better where he can excel and be appreciated. Since he apparently cannot be a SG, there is really no place for him on this roster given the emergence of Thornton.

I know one team that he would be the perfect fit for: the lakers. I guarantee you they would love to get him, but I can't imagine Corey would like to play with Kobe.

Those saying Udrich is stop gap are absolutely correct, but he's a lot better than Dickau. He's much bigger and can actually be effective on help d.

Calderon ain't leaving Toronto. And he's overrated too boot.

Hinrich is the dream, but a lot of teams want him and will have more to offer than the Clipps. We're talking about the Clippers -- an organization that screwed up getting Mike Miller (!!!!) for almost nothing this past February (see Heisler's column today). How care they gonna win this one? I don't buy that the Bulls would even want Mags. They have Deng at small forward and Larry Hughes slides there if they have Gordon at guard. Unless they plan on waiving Gordon, it doesn't make sense.

Tinsley is too injury prone and selfish. He also hasn't played consistently in years. I seem to remember him chucking up numerous bad shots in games at the Staples Center. Would be a big mistake, because he's basically a more talented Jeff McGinnis (which isn't saying much).

Duhon would be fine for a few years (ie, as a stop gap as the team drafts a franchise point in the next two years). He's a smart player, but a second tier point guard. Certainly an upgrade though.

Honestly, Felton wouldn't be bad. He can take over a game scoring wise (unlike Duhon), dish and has more upside than Tinsley. If we could give up Mobley or Thomas for him and maybe a protected first rounder, it's worth it. He's not worth a straight sign and trade for Mags though and I don't think the Bobcats want him.

I fear, however, the Clips will have Knight as their starting pg on opening night.

Hinrich traded to the Clippers = Unrealistic
The Bulls have no need for Maggette or Tim Thomas or Cuttino Mobley (unless we take on Larry Hughes contract, which would be completely out of character for Sterling). I'm sure the Bulls would love to have Kaman, but Kaman is too valuable and his contract is too good to trade for Hinrich.

Beno to the Clips = Realistic
The Clips have the money and he's on the market. He's not a great player so he's probably not going to get offered by any contenders. Unfortunately it may require the Clips to sign him for 5 years, but c'est la vie.

Calderon to the Clips = Unrealistic
The Raptors made their intentions to keep Calderon crystal clear when they traded T.J. Ford. Calderon fits the Raptors system and they are becoming a contender in the East so why would he want to come play for the Clippers?

Duhon to the Clips = Realistic
Basically, he's in the same boat as Urdih, except he'll probably command a little less of a commitment and a little less cash.

Felton to the Clips = ???
I haven't looked into it, but my first thought is: "is Larry Brown going to hand over the reigns to Augustin right away?" Second thought is: "what do we have that the Raptors would want (and don't say Chris Kaman)."

Good post Jake. Calderon is in Toronto. Our pipe dreams of getting him are over.

It will be interesting to see what our point guard situation like to start the year. Hopefully we can make a move to acquire someone. It would seem Maggette would be our big bargaining chip if we don't want to keep him. It just doesn't seem like there are too many guys out there to get. We'll see.

Look at Brevin Knight's Assit/TO ratio and his number of steals. He's a high quality backup PG. Keep him.

Then the Clippers need to get bigger, DeAndrea Jordan is a great pick up; LAC needs to be aggressive and perhaps invite MBFGC to training camp and they really should consider going after Andris Biedrins; it would hurt the Warriors and help the Clippers.

While it's no en-vouge to play small ball the Clippers to just pound it down low and kick it out to Gordon, Mobley and TT to drain the 3's. InsideOut wins games in the NBA.

I heard a rumor this morning from the Orlando Sentinel that Corey Maggette is open to going back to the Magic as a free agent. I'm not exactly sure how he would fit as a starter, being that Hedo and Rashard Lewis essentially play the same position as Maggette, unless wants to out of position at 2-guard.

According to the story, if he does indeed go to back to Orlando, he'll have to take about a $1.2 million paycut to come back there. The same story says that the Clips might offer him a 4-year, $40 million deal.

Does anybody know what kind of sign and trade scenarios are realistic. If either Maggette and Brand decided to opt-out, the Clips would most likely do a sign and trade to at least get something... let's keep our fingers crossed that Brand stays though ...